I am Assistant Professor at Northumbria University, where I have held multiple roles including leading BA, MA and PhD programmes in the Humanities Department. I currently serve as Research Group Lead for English Language and Linguistics.
My current research develops trauma-informed communication strategies that strengthen mental wellbeing, resilience and safety—particularly for people who fall outside formal support structures.
Working in partnership with emergency services, mental health organisations and community groups, I address critical gaps in psychological support for frontline workers, volunteers and communities. This includes designing training resources, evaluating education and engagement programmes, and developing implementable frameworks for wellbeing initiatives.
My work draws on participatory co-design and mixed-methods evaluation, using cognitive and social-psychological approaches, discourse and narrative studies, corpus linguistics and stylistics to understand how language shapes experiences of health, wellbeing, identity and personhood. As a member of the Northumbria Centre for Responsible AI, I also explore how digital technologies can enhance the reach and scalability of communication interventions while maintaining ethical, person-centred practice.
I am widely published in health communication, cognitive linguistics and narrative studies, with outputs including an edited book on crisis communication (The Language of Crisis, John Benjamins, 2020) and peer-reviewed articles in leading international journals such as Language and Health, Language and Literature, and Lingua. I have led multi-partnership health and wellbeing research and engagement projects funded by European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), Higher Education Innovation Funding (HEIF), ESRC and competitive institutional schemes.
I am keen to discuss research partnerships and consultancy opportunities with organisations and groups working in these areas. I also welcome PhD proposals—particularly from students interested in collaborative, practice-facing research.
Highlights of recent public engagement and impact projects:
Saving Lives: Supporting Volunteer Responders (2024–ongoing):
A multi-agency partnership initiative involving the RNLI, NFCC, Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service (TWFRS), Tyneside and Northumberland Mind, Washington Mind, Newcastle City Council, Gateshead Council, and waterside safety communities across Tyne and Wear. Early collaborative work has identified critical gaps in mental wellbeing support for volunteer waterside responders and established the partnerships needed to develop systematic, evidence-based interventions.
Multi-agency stakeholder event (funded by the Institute of Humanities, Northumbria University, November 2024):
As part of the initiative, Strengthening Mental Health Resilience for Volunteer First Responders was a stakeholder event bringing together representatives from over 20 partner organisations across emergency services, mental health, public health, local government and community groups to co-develop sustainable models of responder support.
SafetyWorks Centre evaluation (commissioned by Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service) (2025 – 2026):
Evaluator for SafetyWorks—a TWFRS public education facility delivering community safety and wellbeing programmes. This evaluation informs my forthcoming publication, Advancing Community Safety and Wellbeing: Building Resilience and Engagement through Communication (Under contract with Cambridge Elements: Health Communication series, Cambridge University Press, 2027).
Festival of Social Science events (funded by ESRC):
Community Safety Unlocked: Exploring Risk and Wellbeing at SafetyWorks! (February 2025) – A public engagement event at the SafetyWorks education centre in Newcastle.
Beyond Bedtime: The Hidden Joy and Wellness in Adults Reading with Children (2023) - A public engagement workshop examining wellbeing benefits of cross-generational co-reading.
Research interests
My research addresses pressing societal challenges in mental health, community safety and wellbeing support—generating insights that directly inform professional practice, policy development, and service design. I work at the intersection of linguistic theory and applied practice, integrating health communication, cognitive linguistics, narrative and discourse studies, corpus and digital humanities. I employ mixed-methods approaches to develop communication strategies that can be implemented in partnership with public services, organisations and community groups.
My work converges around four interconnected themes:
Language, health and crisis communication – exploring how language shapes understanding and engagement with health, mental wellbeing and safety in both everyday and high-stress contexts, including trauma-informed communication, health literacy and emergency response.
Wellbeing, identity and personhood – examining how language mediates experiences of identity, resilience and relationships, particularly for people navigating challenging circumstances or operating outside formal support structures.
Narratives and storytelling – analysing the functions and significance of narratives across personal, organisational and literary contexts, and how storytelling supports mental health, meaning-making and community engagement.
Digital technology and inclusive communication – investigating how digital platforms and tools can enhance the accessibility, reach and sustainability of communication interventions while maintaining ethical, person-centred practice.
Public engagement and impact activities
I work in close partnership with emergency services, mental health organisations, public health teams, charities, and community groups to co-develop communication resources, evaluate education programmes, and build sustainable models of support. My collaborative work includes designing training materials for volunteer responders, evaluating community safety initiatives, and creating digital resources that extend the reach of evidence-based interventions.
PhD supervision
I am currently accepting PhD students and welcome proposals exploring language and communication in the above areas. Please get in touch to discuss your ideas.
As Principal Supervisor, I have guided the following doctoral research projects:
Current doctoral researchers:
Yulin Diao: Communicators on the Frontlines: A Mixed-methods Study on the Linguistic Dimensions of Vicarious Trauma in Public Service Interpreters. Start Date: 1 October 2024
Saeed Hoseini: Multiple Voices in Lyric Poetry: A Discourse Stylistic Study of How a Non-Narrative Genre Creates Effect Through Narrative. Start Date: 1 October 2024
Completed PhDs:
Gerrit Kotzur: Disablism at Work. A Critical Discourse and Biographical Narrative Study of Blind and Partially Sighted People’s Professional Identities in the UK and Germany (PhD awarded on 1 Oct 2018)
Hui-Ching Lin: Particles in Phrasal Verbs — a Cognitive Linguistic Approach to Meaning Construction in the EFL Context (PhD awarded on 26 September 2018)
Sylvia Spanou: Deconstructive Reading as a Constrained Hypertextual Interpretation: A Cognitive Linguistic Approach. (PhD awarded on 17 July 2023)
Houssem Sid: The Line between Screening Muslims and Being One: The Representation of the Muslim Identity in ‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist’ (2012); Algerian Muslims’ Perceptions and Negotiations of Muslim Identity. (PhD awarded on 20 December 2024)
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